FICTION PRIZE

THE CRUZ PRIZE FOR SHORT FICTION

THE PRIZE:

A prize of ONE HUNDRED US DOLLARS (US $100) will be awarded every month to the writer of the best piece of short fiction published on the Internet.

An additional prize of FIVE HUNDRED US DOLLARS (US $500) will be awarded every year to the writer of the best piece of short fiction published on the Internet. Only the twelve monthly winners will be eligible for the annual prize.

The prize money may be increased if sponsors are found in the course of the competition.

DEFINITIONS:

A piece of short fiction should consist of no more than ONE THOUSAND (1,000) words, as measured by Microsoft Word or equivalent software.

The word “fiction” is defined simply as narrative. There is no requirement about having plot, character, setting, conflict, or any other element conventionally found in the form. There is no requirement that the narrative be in prose form; verses, dramatic dialogue, concrete poetry, or any other text that can convey narrative is eligible. If an illustration or other non-verbal mode is used, however, the number of words is reduced; for purposes of this competition, an illustration is considered equivalent to ONE HUNDRED (100) words.

The piece may be written in one or a combination of any of the following languages: Cebuano, English, Filipino, French, German, Spanish, Tagalog. (Unfortunately, the reading ability of the sponsor is limited to these languages.)

“Best” is defined according to the personal taste of Isagani R. Cruz, whose taste has been informed by his education and experience. (Competitors may Google his name.)

THE PROCESS:

To enter the competition, the competitor should send a fee per submitted piece of ONE US DOLLAR (US $1) or FIFTY PHILIPPINE PESOS (Php 50) to the Paypal account of “Isagani Cruz”.

The competitor should then submit the link to her/his work and a screenshot of her/his Paypal payment to isaganicruz@gmail.com. (The link may refer to a website, a blog, a writing community such as Wattpad, social media such as Facebook Notes, or any other online vehicle for fiction.)­­

The writer of the winning piece (monthly or annual) will receive the prize through Paypal.

For purposes of this competition, a month starts at midnight of the first day of the calendar month and ends at midnight of the last day of the calendar month, PHT (Philippines) time (UTC+08:00 hours).

Because it will be difficult for the sponsor to check when a piece is first uploaded to the Internet, he will rely on the good faith of the competitor. After the first couple of months, it will be obvious anyway which pieces do not fall within the periods of the prize.

A competitor may submit as many pieces as s/he may wish to. Pieces previously submitted are automatically disqualified.

The sponsor will not read the work (and will not refund the submission fee) if Google Chrome bars him from clicking on the link due to suspected phishing or malware.

No submission fee will be refunded under any circumstances.

The sponsor will not be responsible if Paypal, Facebook, or any website commits an error that removes an entry from the competition.

For transparency, the links of qualified entries will be posted in www.isaganicruz.com/fiction-prize at the end of a calendar month.

All communication between the sponsor and a competitor will be done either through gmail or Facebook PM. No communication posted on the sponsor’s Facebook profile or sent through Google Hangout or Google Plus will be entertained.

The titles and writers of the winning pieces will be announced on the sponsor’s Facebook profile and www.isaganicruz.com.